The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the research topic, conceptualising and defining three critical concepts that the research will focus on. The first part deals with the South African understanding of local economic development, rural development, as well as the role of small towns to local economic development. In order to present the role of small towns in rural economic development it is important to define and contextualise the current meaning and understanding of rural development and local economic development. How small towns can promote the role of rural economic development particularly in relation to their surrounding rural villages. The chapter also briefly introduces the small town of Keiskammahoek as research study area.

Income-generating projects represent one strategy adopted by the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DoSD) to alleviate poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an income-generating, or poverty alleviation, project funded by the DoSD in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A sample of ten respondents was drawn from the project. The sampling method of this study was purposive sampling. Data was gathered through semi-structured questionnaires. Related literature focusing on income-generating projects for poverty alleviation was reviewed. Various recommendations have been made, based on the findings of the study. The findings of the study indicated the need for regular visits from Department officials to conduct monitoring and evaluation. Project members also need training in financial management as they cannot manage their finances. The research findings indicated clearly that strategies used by the Department were not effective enough to achieve the desired goals of an income-generating project.

Most land is still state owned and is granted to users through traditional authorities. Even though the government has undertaken some programmes to reduce rural poverty and has initiated land reform programmes, improved service delivery and formed new water rights legislation in rural areas, the problem of low crop production still persists among South African farmers. The study was undertaken to identify different farmers’ aspirations and goals for expanding their crop production from homestead gardening to irrigation plots in Mhlontlo Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The central problem is that smallholder farmers are not expanding their scale of crop production even though they have access to natural capital which includes land and water. The broad objective of the study was to determine the aspirations and goals of farmers to expand irrigation crop production from homestead gardens to irrigation plots. The specific objectives of the study were to assess factors that addressed smallholder farmers’ aspirations and goals to expand crop production, to identify challenges that smallholder farmers encountered in expanding from homestead gardens to irrigation plots and to determine the current state of homestead gardens and irrigation plots. A list of 20 goals were identified from the field survey with 54 homestead food gardeners and 50 smallholder irrigation farmers in the different villages of the Mhlontlo Local Municipality. Random sampling was used to select the farmers who were asked to score the identified farm enterprise goals in terms of their relative importance. The goals were categorised into five factors using Gasson goal ranking methods which ranked goals on the basis of intrinsic, expressive, instrumental, and social criteria. The next step was to determine the standard deviations and means of the ranked goals. Descriptive statistics was then used to profile the farmers according to such factors as age, gender, years of farm experience, types of plot, the availability of water and land for crop production, the income farmers generate from the sale of crops produced and these are cross-tabulated with their goal rankings. The Logit model was used to estimate the probability that farmers would belong to a particular goal ranking and performance category. The logit model was also used to identify the factors that influence the expansion of the cropped area. The results revealed that maize production and land size where significant at 1%. Age and type of irrigation used were also positively significant at 1%. The results also revealed that the adoption of agricultural technology by smallholder irrigation farmers and homestead food gardens contributed to better quality produce.

Previous studies conducted in the study area recommended an irrigation scheme as a much desired intervention in order to reduce poverty levels, reduce unemployment, provide a livelihood for the households and trigger development. The Land Bank of South Africa has shown keen interest to provide funds to set up an irrigation scheme in Guquka. Absence of peoples’ involvement and farmer participation has been identified as one of the causes of poor performance of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa. The poor performance of smallholder irrigation projects in South Africa provided a good basis for exploring factors that could possibly affect farmer participation and the success of the proposed irrigation scheme. This knowledge would be useful to providers of extension services, capital providers, policy makers and the recipients of the proposed irrigation scheme. The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the willingness of farming households to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. This investigation helped to analyse demographic; socio economic situation; farming practices; economic activities; water sources, uses and management in the study area. The major tool of enquiry in this study was the questionnaire which was used to collect data from the households. Household and farm characteristics were collected using structured questionnaires with the help of locally recruited and trained enumerators. The data used for the empirical analysis was obtained from a survey of 50 farming households in Guquka, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The following variables were selected to determine the scope of their influence on farmer willingness to participate in the proposed scheme: age; membership in local group; investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers, knowledge, household size, labour and gender. A logit model was used to determine the extent to which these selected characteristics influence the willingness of farmers to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. The results showed that willingness to participate in the scheme was significantly influenced by the afore mentioned variables as well as knowledge about the planned irrigation scheme which is mainly provided by extension agents; and total household income. Age was found to decrease the willingness of farmers to participate in irrigation. A positive association existed between participation and the following variables; membership in local group, investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers and knowledge. On the other hand, household size, labour and gender were not significant variables affecting willingness to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. Based on the results from the logit regression model, it can be concluded that membership in a local group, investment in agriculture, education, knowledge and total household income are responsible for increasing the probability of participation. The negative relationship on age and participation indicates that the older the person is, the lesser the chances of participation. It is recommended that stakeholders should improve access to education and farmer training programmes. Support systems to disseminate information, training and knowledge should be enhanced. Improving institutional support and access to financial services should be prioritised by the stakeholders in the study area. Further studies on building institutional capacity and a cost benefit analysis of irrigation options in the study area are recommended.

The purpose of this single case study was to investigate the variables that determine the perceived success of the costing management of Mandela Bay Development Agency Projects (MBDA). Eleven propositions namely Strategic Planning, Stakeholders, Procurement Processes, Contracts, Design Management, Implementation Management, Internal Regulatory Structures, Outside Advice, Human Behaviour, Risk Management and Governance Structure, were identified that could influence costing management of MBDA projects. By using qualitative research methods, the MBDA was compared with three other agencies with similar mandates, by means of four semi-structured interviews, in order to identify similarities and differences between the organisations in terms of costing management. The results of nine in-depth interviews with MBDA project role players, with open ended questions about the participants’ views on the factors that influence costing management, were used to discover themes that were overlooked in the proposed model of perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects. Most of the propositions as per the proposed model for the perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects were confirmed to have a positive relationship to the costing management of MBDA projects. The model was revised after the results were presented to include two ante-ceding variables that were overlooked in the literature review, but emerged from the data namely Funding Model and Compliance to Legislation. The identification of the additional variables namely Team Dynamics (replacing Human Behaviour) and Planning Model are important aspects to be considered in relation to the costing management of MBDA projects. With the focus on good governance and the MBDA’s good record of clean and unqualified audits, it is to be noted that the performance of government projects is usually measured against progress and expenditure and not necessarily against the value for money and the quality of the completed project.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Wits Business School 4 November 2016 / Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe infrastructure deficits including in power generation, water facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. These deficits compound the socio-economic challenges of the most impoverished region in the world. It is estimated that funding of US$ 90 billion per annum is required to address infrastructure deficiencies. Other developing regions including Asia, the Middle East, and South America, have with varying degrees of success utilised the project finance framework to address similar infrastructure deficiencies, and also develop other commercial ventures. Africa has lagged behind in this respect, and still accounts for less than 3% of international project finance flows. The ability to attract and access international and domestic project finance capital, and execute the underlying ventures is an important opportunity to address the challenges noted above. The study contributes to knowledge by deepening our understanding of project finance in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in the following ways. Firstly, it offers a model through which to monitor key contextual factors that influence the success, failure, and shaping of project and infrastructure ventures. Secondly, it interrogates the main capital structure theories including the static trade off and pecking order theories, and their applicability and relevance for project and infrastructure finance in the selected jurisdictions. It then compares capital structure theory with actual practice of capital structure formulation in the 7 cases studies investigated. This yields important insights as to the most important factors influencing capital structure in project finance in the three selected countries. In particular the constrained supply of capital is observed as the top factor determining capital structure. It further enhances our understanding of why ventures using project finance in these countries may have significantly lower leverage than other similar ventures in developed regions of the world. Thirdly, the study extracts key insights into how stakeholder interactions evolve in the projects by applying stakeholder agency theory to project sponsors, managers, contractors, state institutions, and community organisations. Collectively these insights should contribute to attracting increased capital to project finance in Sub-Saharan Africa, and arranging projects with greater prospects of operational success. / MT 2017

Participation in development is not a new concept as over the years, facilitators of development have realized that meaningful development can only be achieved when the people concerned take part in decision making and implementation of activities affecting them. This study was done to examine the extent to which child participation is being achieved in a development programme area, facilitated by World Vision Malawi, a Non Governmental Organization. The study was done in Chata Area development programme (ADP) located in T/A Chimutu in Lilongwe district. Children are defined as any person below the age 18. The study used mixed methods approach in which quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Through random and purposive sampling, 110 children and 105 adults were interviewed using a questionnaire. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also done to supplement information collected through the questionnaires. Analysis of the quantitative data collected was done using Scientific Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) tool while the qualitative data was analyzed manually using common themes that emerged from the findings. The findings of the study show that despite the many development activities in Chata area participation of children has been limited. Adults look down upon children as a minority group which cannot meaningfully participate in development activities. Furthermore, the study found such factors as cultural and traditional practices, gender, level of education and other household characteristics to be the major barriers to children‟s participating in development activities. Surprisingly, the findings further indicate that much as the programme has been engaged in advocacy activities, these have focused more on creating awareness on child protection only rather than child participation. The study argues that if children will have to sustain the development gains in communities such as Chata, then they equally need to participate in the development process to enhance their future capacities in related development activities. On the overall, therefore, the study recommends that there is a need to create awareness on the adults to change attitude when they look at children and begin to create room for children to participate in the development process in an age appropriate manner. There is a need to create systems and structures that will enable children be included in the decision making process while building their capacity and self esteem. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Participation in development is not a new concept as over the years, facilitators of development have realized that meaningful development can only be achieved when the people concerned take part in decision making and implementation of activities affecting them. This study was done to examine the extent to which child participation is being achieved in a development programme area, facilitated by World Vision Malawi, a Non Governmental Organization. The study was done in Chata Area development programme (ADP) located in T/A Chimutu in Lilongwe district. Children are defined as any person below the age 18. The study used mixed methods approach in which quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Through random and purposive sampling, 110 children and 105 adults were interviewed using a questionnaire. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also done to supplement information collected through the questionnaires. Analysis of the quantitative data collected was done using Scientific Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) tool while the qualitative data was analyzed manually using common themes that emerged from the findings. The findings of the study show that despite the many development activities in Chata area participation of children has been limited. Adults look down upon children as a minority group which cannot meaningfully participate in development activities. Furthermore, the study found such factors as cultural and traditional practices, gender, level of education and other household characteristics to be the major barriers to children‟s participating in development activities. Surprisingly, the findings further indicate that much as the programme has been engaged in advocacy activities, these have focused more on creating awareness on child protection only rather than child participation. The study argues that if children will have to sustain the development gains in communities such as Chata, then they equally need to participate in the development process to enhance their future capacities in related development activities. On the overall, therefore, the study recommends that there is a need to create awareness on the adults to change attitude when they look at children and begin to create room for children to participate in the development process in an age appropriate manner. There is a need to create systems and structures that will enable children be included in the decision making process while building their capacity and self esteem. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

In view of the high levels of poverty in most under-developed and developing countries, poverty reduction has become an international phenomenon. South Africa (SA) is a country faced with the challenge of poverty as a result of the high rates of unemployment fifteen (15) years after the introduction of the new democratic dispensation. Poverty reduction has been placed at the centre of global development objectives to improve people‟s lives through expanding their choices, their freedom, and their dignity. Numerous countries have developed poverty-reduction strategies, which are over-arching macro-strategies implemented by different social and economic sectors in collaboration with the private sector. South Africa, however, does not have an over-arching poverty reduction strategy, which is the key national governmental priority, although many poverty-reduction programmes exist. The existing poverty reduction initiatives in South Africa, such as Income Generating Projects (IGPs), are either established by Government or the Civil Society structures with the aim to assist in changing the standard of living of poor people so that they can at least meet their basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. This study focuses on the IGPs that operate in Atteridgeville, Tshwane, with the view to explore and describe the experiences of individuals who participate in these IGPs. A qualitative research approach was selected for the study and three IGPs were selected from the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) that affiliate to the Phelindaba Forum. This Forum coordinates social development activities in Atteridgeville, Saulsville and Mshengoville. The findings of the study indicated that although IGPs are established to benefit participants financially, there are other factors that motivate people to join and remain in the projects, such as moral support amongst members. Furthermore, some NGOs claim to facilitate IGPs, but in some instances, these IGPs are left to operate on their own without much needed assistance. The recommendation for future studies is that participants need to be engaged with in order to get a true reflection of how the IGPs operate. The assistance and support of NGOs are crucial for the sustainability of such projects. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

Thesis (M.Tech.: Office Management and Technology)-Durban Institute of Technology, 2004 v, 105 leaves / This topic was initiated because of love of community development and information communication application by the researcher. It was further strengthened by taking part during the International Wowen University (Ifu) practice in 2000. The main theme of the study was Information Age. Ifu is well known as the virtual university, which is based in Germany at the University of Hamburg. The researcher, together with eight other women from different countries, designed and developed a model for community development by using ICTs. The model can be used as a basic guide for similar projects. The work, therefore in this thesis is based on personal experiences shared experiences, and research as well as by reading others experiences. This study provides ideas for potential community development by using Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in rural areas with special reference to Ward Three of Durban Metro. The results of the study confirmed the saying “If you can’t beat them join them”. This study reported on research conducted in two different rural areas known as Bamshela and Ward Three. The results from the first area Bamshela, illustrated the way forward for Ward Three. Since the ICTs center exists in Bamshela the author received more information about the centre’s utilisation than its establishment. The focus on the second area emphasises the necessity, awareness and participation in community development. The three specifics focuses on whether there is a need for the ICTs centre for community development. Further more the study focused on areas where ICTs played prominent roles, such as in policy making, education, globalisation, ICTs, community development and participation of community members in community development projects.